Рубрика : Увлечения

Evans Gesura Mecha Information Structure in Ekegusii

Information structure influences the interpretation, through the pragmatic structuring of propositions, helping the hearer differentiate what is information (focus) in relation to a given topic, and this may induce movement, insertion or deletion of some sentential constituents. It demonstrates that information structural constraints at the sentential level mainly influence the information state of both canonical and non-canonical constructions word orders. It uses an eclectic approach in describing the role of information structure in Ekegusii. The work explores how the pragmatic functions, topic and focus, influence the formal organization and content of two discoursal components: word order, and referential coherence, based on Ekegusii, a Bantu language spoken in Kenya. Lambrecht’s model of Information Structure and Bidirectional Optimality Theory are used to capture both production and comprehension aspects in discourse! Information structure also interacts with referential...